BACKGROUND Tranexamic acid (TXA) is used as a hemostatic adjunct for hemorrhage control in the injured patient and reduces early preventable death. However, the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been incompletely explored. Previous studies investigating the effect of TXA on VTE vary in their findings. We performed a propensity matched analysis to investigate the association between TXA and VTE following trauma, hypothesizing that TXA is an independent risk factor for VTE. METHODS This retrospective study queried trauma patients presenting to a single Level I trauma center from 2012 to 2016. Our primary outcome was composite pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis. Mortality, transfusion, intensive care unit and hospital lengths of stay were secondary outcomes. Propensity matched mixed effects multivariate logistic regression was used to determine adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of TXA on outcomes of interest, adjusting for prespecified confounders. Competing risks regression assessed subdistribution hazard ratio of VTE after accounting for mortality. RESULTS Of 21,931 patients, 189 pairs were well matched across propensity score variables (standardized differences <0.2). Median Injury Severity Score was 19 (interquartile range, 12–27) and 14 (interquartile range, 8–22) in TXA and non-TXA groups, respectively (p = 0.19). Tranexamic acid was associated with more than threefold increase in the odds of VTE (aOR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.3–9.1; p = 0.02). Tranexamic acid was not significantly associated with survival (aOR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.23–3.25; p = 0.83). Risk of VTE remained elevated in the TXA cohort despite accounting for mortality (subdistribution hazard ratio, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.11–5.29; p = 0.03). CONCLUSION Tranexamic acid may be an independent risk factor for VTE. Future investigation is needed to identify which patients benefit most from TXA, especially given the risks of this intervention to allow a more individualized treatment approach that maximizes benefits and mitigates potential harms. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, level III.

Women experience gender-based challenges during surgical training. Further investigation is needed to determine how these experiences affect professional development.

Background Existing evidence indicates Black patients have higher incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) and PE‐related mortality compared with other races/ethnicities, yet disparities in presenting severity and treatment remain incompletely understood. Methods and Results We retrospectively queried a multihospital healthcare system for all hospitalizations for acute PE (2012–2019). Of 10 329 hospitalizations, 8743 met inclusion criteria. Black patients (14.3%) were significantly younger (54.6±17.8 versus 63.1±16.6 years; P <0.001) and more female (56.1% versus 51.6%; P =0.003) compared with White patients. Using ordinal regression, Black race was significantly associated with higher PE severity after matching 1:3 on age and sex (1210:3264; odds ratio [OR], 1.08; 95% CI, 1.03–1.14), adjusting for clinical (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01–1.27), and socioeconomic (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.05–1.35) characteristics. Among intermediate and high‐severity PE, Black race was associated with a decreased risk of intervention controlling for the competing risk of mortality and censoring on hospital discharge. This effect was modified by PE severity ( P value <0.001), with a lower and higher risk of intervention for intermediate and high‐severity PE, respectively. Race was not associated with in‐hospital mortality (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.69–1.02). Conclusions Black patients hospitalized with PE are younger with a higher severity of disease compared with White patients. Although Black patients are less likely to receive an intervention overall, this differed depending on PE severity with higher risk of intervention only for life‐threatening PE. This suggests nuanced racial disparities in management of PE and highlights the complexities of healthcare inequalities.